Startups often operate with a much looser culture than mid-sized small businesses or big corporations. They wear shorts and baseball caps to work, sit on beanbag chairs and give people cool titles.

One part of traditional business they can’t ignore, however, is the boring act of running payroll.

While it’s not the most exciting aspect of a new venture, it’s an important one. Paying your employees accurately and on time is how you retain their talents. So what should a young, growing startup look for in a payroll service?

The answer is one that doesn’t slow them down. For a small company looking to move swiftly, having to write checks or deal with updating a software program, are not the best options.

Startups should consider an online payroll service that is so easy to use it’s more of an afterthought than a chore. It should take minutes, not hours, and it should generally simplify the process, which can be quite complicated.

So when considering a payroll solution for a startup make sure it meets these checklist items: •Easy to use – You shouldn’t have to know much about payroll to run payroll and have the payroll taxes taken care of for you. •Mobile – Much of your business may already be taking place on smartphones and tablets, payroll should be no different. •Cloud-based – Everything from actually running the payroll to pulling up reports and paystubs should be readily accessible online. No digging around for documents.

The sooner the payroll is done, the sooner a burgeoning startup can work on the next great idea.